Boys Basketball:
St. Anthony got out to a 13-point lead in the first half of their CIF-SS Division 1 opener at Damien.
The Spartans, however, would outscore the Saints, 26-8, in the third quarter, and pulled away for a 69-57 victory.
If you haven’t seen Nate Garcia play in person, you should.
He was the most dominant player on the floor, and there wasn’t a close second.
His size and impact was the difference.
Garcia finished with 31 points, which is 16 more than St. Anthony’s leading scorer (Tyler Small).
Garcia had 12 of Damien’s 26 third-quarter points.
Xavier Clinton chipped in with 14 points in the win.
As mentioned, Small led the Saints with 15 points, and Quincy Phillips finished with 14.
St. Anthony actually had a 24-9 advantage beyond the 3-point arc, and went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line.
The Spartans converted 14-of-19 at the charity stripe.
Up next: Damien and Colony will meet up on Friday night.
The Titans easily defeated Los Altos, 77-55, in Ontario.
Directly below the stats is video, interviews and all CIF-SS Division 1 scores.
I asked Damien coach Mike LeDuc what they did differently late in the first half and in the second half to pull away.
Quotable:
Damien coach, Mike LeDuc: “Nate is very difficult to stop, because he’s talented and he’s big. It’s our job to put him in a spot to be successful, and it’s his teammates job to get him the ball. Offensively, we didn’t a lot different. We played smarter and threw the ball inside more. Defensively, we went to a zone, because we had a real match up problem in man, and they seemed a little confused in their ability to score.”
Box Score:
SA: 7-14-8-18-(57)
D: 13-17-26-13-(69)
St. Anthony scoring: Tyler Small 15, Quincy Phillips 14, Santos Cordero 8, Joseph Wicker 8, Chandler Young 7, Amaan Zavahir 5
Damien scoring: Nate Garcia 31, Xavier Clinton 14, Eli Garner 7, Elijah Brown 6, Lucas Arrieta 4, Caiden Brown 4, Jacob Allen 3
Division 1 Scores:
Etiwanda had a bye
Oak Park 53, St. Francis 41
Los Alamitos 55, Santa Margarita 50
St. Paul 51, Village Christian 49
Canyon had a bye
Crossroad 52, Loyola 47
Rolling Hills Prep 62, Cajon 35
JSerra 64, Great Oak 53
Mira Costa had a bye
Brentwood 57, Fairmont Prep 46
Colony 77, Los Altos 55
Damien 69, St. Anthony 57
Heritage Christian 59, Foothill 51
Roosevelt 63, Dominguez 43
Crean Lutheran 76, San Juan Hills 66
Mater Dei 78, LB Poly 51
Photos and game info from Ryan Tomey Football: St. Francis’ quest for a CIF-SS Division 6 championship was thwarted by their visitors from Murrieta Mesa. The Rams found themselves in an 11-point hole in the first quarter at Jim Bonds Stadium. However, MMHS was able to edge SFHS, 31-28, after outscoring the Golden Knights, 28-14, […]
Thanks to Harry Joe for the game info and stats Football: It might sound like a broken record. However, to borrow lyrics from the great Canadian rock band, Rush, “a fact’s a fact from Nome to Rome.” And the fact is that Rio Hondo Prep used their recipe for success in yet another CIF-SS playoff […]
Photos by Carlo Montalbo (@Carlo.Montalbo on Instagram) Football: After the past two wins, you couldn’t blame Glendora or their fans if they believe in destiny. The Tartans opened with a 31-7 blowout victory at Agoura in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs. However, over the past two weeks, the Tartans have dug […]
Football: CIF-SS Semifinal Round Scores: Division 1: Mater Dei 36, Centennial Corona 7 St. John Bosco 20, Orange Lutheran 17 Division 2: Murrieta Valley 55, Oaks Christian 52 Newbury Park 20, Yorba Linda 14 Division 3: Edison 42, Vista Murrieta 14 Simi Valley 28, Loyola 25 Division 4: St. Bonaventure 20, Apple Valley 13 Pacifica […]
Girls Water Polo: West Covina is one victory away today from having a four-win week. The Bulldogs have defeated La Mirada (15-13), Pasadena (10-5) and Cerritos (15-4) on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Deneli Salazar continued her dominant week with eight goals. Meagan Harris chipped in with three goals. Marisa Lemus had quite the game […]
Girls Basketball: La Salle improved to 2-0 after its 52-26 victory at Keppel. The Lancers pulled away in the second quarter after outscoring the Aztecs, 15-0. Aislin Tamez Torres had a game-high 18 points. Casey Higgins chipped in with 14 points. Kaden Cortes and Julianne Tan provided six points apiece in Thursday’s win. Alyssa Canizal […]
Photo by Underrated Media Girls Basketball: Los Osos and Flintridge Prep met up Thursday night at the Bonita Tip-Off challenge. The win would earn a spot in Saturday’s title game. And it was the Wolves that secured a championship game appearance with a 52-45 victory over the Grizzlies. Maddie Smith had a game-high 19 points […]
Girls Water Polo: West Covina picked up their third victory of the 2024-25 season in four tries. After a 9-2 loss to San Dimas in the season opener, the Bulldogs have now defeated Monrovia (17-13), La Mirada (15-13) and Pasadena (10-5). Deneli Salazar led the charge with five goals and four steals, continuing her streak […]
Girls Basketball: It’s unusual for a game to be considered ‘over’ after eight minutes of play. However, politically correct or not, Glendora put Anaheim away with a 22-0 first quarter. The Tartans cruised to a 57-26 victory at the La Mirada Tournament. Reagan (“Ronnie”) Herrmann had a game-high 17 points. Kamryn Kuo led both teams […]
